Did you know ... dogs have been wearing collars ever since Egyptian times, Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born and develop their spots as they grow older, and the poodles 'haircut'was originally to improve its swimming ability as a retriever. Find out more amazing canine facts here...

The tallest dogs are the Great Dane and Irish Wolfhound

The smallest dogs are the Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier and Toy Poodle

A dog's hearing is very acute. They can register sounds of 35,000 vibrations a second (compared to our 20,000)

Dog's have a wonderful sense of smell. A Fox Terrier has 147 million 'smelling cells' and a German Shepherd has 220 million compared to a humans 5 million

The oldest reliable age recorded for a dog is 29 years and 5 months - an Australian Cattle Dog called Bluey.

All dogs, regardless of breed, are direct descendents of wolves. Technically they are all the same species, which means they can breed together and produce fertile offspring

2 dogs survived the sinking of the titanic - a Pekinese and a Pomeranian

Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born and develop their spots as they grow older

The poodles 'haircut' was originally to improve its swimming ability as a retriever.

Dogs take between 10-30 breaths a minute

Dogs have twice as many muscles for moving their ears as humans do

Dogs have a visual range of 250 degrees compared to the human range of 180 degrees

The word puppy derives from the French word poupee which means doll

Puppies are born blind, deaf and toothless

A puppy begins to see when it is between 2-3 weeks old. At 3 weeks it will develop a sense of smell

At 4-8 weeks of age a puppies mouth will get 28 baby teeth. At 4-7 months of age the baby teeth will fall out and be replaced will 42 permanent teeth

The phrase raining cats and dogs originated in 17th century England when many cats and dogs drowned during heavy downpours of rain and when rivers burst their banks. Their bodies would be seen floating in the rain torrents that raced through the streets giving the appearance that it had 'rained cats and dogs'.

Dogs have 3 eyelids - an upper and lower eyelid and a 3rd one hidden between them. It helps protect their eyes from dirt and dust

The Greyhound is the fastest dog and can run at 45mph for short periods of time

The Basenji dog from the Congo is a breed that does not bark, instead makes a yodel type sound

Dogs have been wearing collars ever since Egyptian times

The most intelligent dog breeds are said to be the Border Collie, Poodle and Golden Retriever

Dogs can see in colour but not as vivid a colour scheme as we use. It is much like our vision at twilight

Dogs have fewer taste buds than humans. We have approx 9,000 whereas dogs have 1,700

Contrary to popular belief the Canary Islands were not named after the Canary bird but rather after the large dogs that lived on the island

Dogs turn in circles before lying down out of instinct. In the wild, this action would turn long grass into a bed

Dogs don't have an appendix

When your dog is frightened it puts its tail between its legs. Doing so covers the scent glands in the anal area, which carry the personal scent of the dog and identify it to other dogs. This behaviour is the equivalent of a human hiding their face with their hands

The Doberman breed was created in the 1860's by Louis Dobermann, a German tax collector who created the dog to protect him while he worked